Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by Fatehunter:

Poured into an imperial pint glass. Beautiful finger and half of off-white head on a dark red colored body.The aroma is nice but faint. Caramel and dry barley.The taste heavy on the malt but not too sweet. There's a little hit of lemon bitter in the middle. It finishing long and dry. The texture is thicker with low carbonation.Very enjoyable.

More User Reviews:

The beer pours an amber color with a white head. The aroma is a lot hoppier than I expected it to be. I get a lot of grass, pine and citrus notes. I get a little bit of malt, but the aroma is all about the hops.

The flavor is also very hoppy. I get a lot of grass, pine and floral notes, with a little bit of citrus. There is not too much of a malt backbone and the bitterness is about medium.

Nose is full assertive sweet red plums with some sweet orange/cherry marmalade. Sweet but pleasant.

Mouthfeel is full and creamy with nice carbonation, nice body and good balance.

Flavors are burnt orange character roasted grain with a black coffee/roasted grain mid palate and finish. Nice complexities and apears really food friendly. Actually much more complex than an initial tasting would have one conclude.

Nose is pleasantly fruity sweet and one expects a bit more sweet character but is pleasantly surprised with rich malt/roasted grain flavors. A food friendly brew and quite drinkable and the bitter coffee finish works.

Note: I went back and read reviews after reviewing/tasting this one. I agree with Andrew here....there does seem to be something missing. This is a good drink. However, it's missing a "bright" character which would really kick it up a notch.

Appearance: From a bomber bottle into a pint glass, the color is almost dark caramel, almost chocolate. Held up to the light, it is beyond cloudy--it is opaque with little light making its way through. The Bandersnatch label on the other side of the glass cannot be read. The head of the beer is thin and the carbonation appears plentiful, bubbling up along the sides of the glass.

Smell: burnt caramel, bread, faint pine. The smell is inviting, but not overwhelming.

Taste: there's something a little acrid in the flavor, but I don't find this unpleasant--again going back to that burnt caramel I was smelling. It is bitter, but the bitter is in a sort of argument with the toasty mellow flavor, and the mellow flavor wins the argument with a sweeter aftertaste that lingers. There is also the taste of a hop backbone with the pine coming in the middle. The taste is my favorite part of this beer.

Mouthfeel: I wished for a sturdier mouthfeel to carry the freight of all that complexity. Instead, the beer feels thin. Initially, I thought there was a bit too much carbonation, but then the little pinpricks of the bubbles were dancing with the bitterness and all was forgiven.

Overall: I really like this one. I'll buy it again on purpose. Thanks, Rubicon!

Poured into a Dogfish Head pint glass. Pours a medium red-orange amber with a two finger light tan head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of caramel and slightly toasted malt, light piney hops, nuts. Flavor is biscuit and mild toasted malt, hops with subdued herbal qualities appropriate for European hops, slightly nutty, some rye-like mild sourness and flavor. Finishes drier with a mildly astringent hop bitterness. Medium bodied. An interesting strong ale that is does not really fit the profile of an old ale and probably should be listed as an American strong ale. The bottle calls this "Rosebud Special Ale" so no indication they were going for the old ale maltiness. The malts are complex, covering mild caramel malt, lots of biscuit malt and a hint of toasted malt. Hops are subdued, but this is an older bottle, so they may be a bit tired. The brewer lists the brewing date on the bottle which is a great idea. The rye flavor and mild tartness are odd because there is no indication of rye being used in this. In a blind taste, I would have identified this as a rye beer and a nice one. Nice; malty and hoppy.

I have had my share of complex beers but this thing was all over the place. I do not know how to describe it. I read the other reviews before having it because I was going to Beachwood BBQ (a great new place) and saw it was available. Being up to trying any beer once, I ordered one. It looked fine and smelled okay but the taste was too weird. It had a citrusy, malty, hoppy flavor that just did not work for me. I like sour beers and I like hoppy ones but trying to mix some styles just do not always work.

A- very aggressive pour produces a 1-1/2 finger head that sticks around for a while. When it recedes it leaves nice lacing. Beer is burnt orange with hints of red and brown in there. Approaching a barleywine color sort of. Head is a bit darker than off white.

S- Like overly ripe dark fruits and some sweetness. A hint of milk chocolate mixed in their as well. Too sweet smelling, I hope it doesn't carry over to the taste.

T- Overly ripe dark fruits, chocolate, caramel, alcohol, brown sugar, overly ripe red grapes. Not as sweet as the smell but still too sweet. This doesn't really do it for me taste-wise. The flavors are all muddled together and none are that great or stick out. As it warms the flavors come together and taste a bit better and also becomes a little less sweet. Good but nothing special at all.

M- Good mouthfeel. Nice weight, Nice carbonation

O- Not very drinkable because of the sweetness and alcohol taste. A 22 oz was more than enough of this stuff

Very clear, very dark brown with ruby highlights. Off-white one finger head with very sticky lacing.

Aroma is molasses and dark, sweet malt.

This beer is so smooth and velvety that I suspect the gas mix on the draft line mix may have been bumped up to favor nitrogen over CO2. Still had a bit of bite to it, though.

Chocolate note to the flavor is the first thing I noticed. Molasses. Some coffee style bitterness to the finish. More like a less-roasted stout than a traditional old ale, as I didn't pick up any fruit or wine character. Hops were also not a noticeable component of this near-malt-bomb. I had to dock this beer a little due to wandering so far off-style, flavor-wise.

Whatever you call this, it is strong, tastes fine and is easy to drink.

Pours a clean deep amber to brown color with a light tan head. In the aroma, caramel, dark fruit, and sugary. In the taste, dry caramel and ends with a dry dark fruit. A smooth and and medium bodied mouthfeel, with a dry dark fruit in the aftertaste. Nice old ale, line taste and aroma. Nice little heat of alcohol in the tummy.

A: The pour is a clear, dark amber color with a small off-white head, leaving some mild lacing.

S: A lot of sweet caramel malt along with some brown sugar. A mild citrus aroma helps to cut through the sweetness.

T: Despite a very sugary nose, the sweetness was fairly restrained. The caramel and brown sugar come through, but so do some nice citrus and fruit flavors. The hops don't really provide any bitterness here, which I could have used a touch of.

M: The body is medium to full with a moderate level of carbonation.

D: A touch more bitterness and this one would have been a lot better. It was still good as it is, but seemed to be missing something.

Pours a bright golden red color with a big three finger head. Smell is very floral with some citrus from the hops. Taste is oddly milky and floral. Not a good combination at all. Good carbonation and nice full mouthfell.

On tap at the brewery yesterday. An interesting old ale. Transparent brown with a white head. The nose is the most interesting part; it smells exactly like a kitchen full of fresh-baked apple cinnamon muffins. Has that fresh beer flavor that reminds me of the smell of freshly boiled wort. Not aggressively hopped, but a bitter punch is present nevertheless. Malts are there on the mouthfeel, full-bodied and a tiny bit sweet. Not too thick or sticky, but a nice higher-gravity brew with a personality.

T: Begins off-dry with toffee, semi-dark roasted malt, and dark citrus fruit. Flavors turn more earthy and floral in the middle, with hints of rosewater. The finish is moderately bitter, retaining earthy and roasty qualities, and gaining a spicy rye grain edge late.

M: Medium viscosity, smooth on the palate, with moderate carbonation.

D: A malt-forward red ale, bordering on imperial strength--this beer keeps the attention of the palate, being able to complement savory food flavors without being overshadowed. An interesting and uncommon collection of sensory qualities are brought together here to good effect. While not for everyday consumption, it definitely requires future visits.

On-tap at Rubicon with about half an inch of tan head that sticks to the glass and has decent retention. Dark dark amber color.

Aroma of berries, currants, citrus and dates. The berry aroma seemed pronounced to me, with a tiny hint of sourness in the background. Very interesting and satisfying aroma.

Taste of berries initially gives way to an almost floral hop presense with some bitterness in the finish, but all of that is very balanced against the malt. Drinks suprisingly easy considering the strong aroma and stickiness of the head. Finishes with a slight sourness but nothing off putting. Very easy to get in trouble with this high ABV easy drinking ale. Very tasty and worth a stop.

A: Pours a very dark ruddy brown with a couple fingers of very soft and dense looking light cream colored head. Head stuck around for quite some time before slowly collapsing into soft film that maintained itself through the whole glass. A network of thin lace was left down the glass.S: Sweet smelling with big notes of raisins, caramel, candied dates and toast. Not too complicated. T: Follows the nose but thankfully not as sweet as I was dreading. I get notes of roasted bread crust malts, roasted grains, sweet caramel, cocoa powder, dark fruits and raisins. The finish has hints of earthy hops, and the aftertaste is malty and sweet. I get a hint of tobacco as well.M: Medium body, soft and ample carbonation, smooth and very easy going mouthfeel. O: What flavors are there are good but I wish this beer was a couple percent higher in ABV and had a little bit stronger flavor. Tastes watered down compared to many of the old ales I’ve had. Still, a solid beer and worth a try if you like malt.